1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to reel units, and in particular, to fishing-rod mounted dual-bearing reel units in which fishing line is wound on a spool that is rotated by turning a handle on the reel.
2. Description of Related Art
Dual-bearing reels include a reel body to be mounted on a fishing rod, a spool disposed inside the reel body, a handle provided on one side of the reel unit, and a rotation transmission mechanism for transmitting rotation of the handle to the spool. The reel body includes a frame and a pair of side-covers. The frame includes a pair of left and right side-plates and connection members connecting the two side-plates, which are covered by the side-covers. The rotation transmission mechanism includes a main gear mounted on the handle shaft and a pinion gear mounted on the spool shaft; enlarging the two gears diametrically improves their rotation transmission efficiency.
Among dual-bearing reels of this kind, round dual-bearing reels are known whose side-plates and side-covers are made of metal and are substantially circular when viewed from the side. With conventional round dual-bearing reels manufactured of metal, the outer peripheral surface is finished by a machining process that serves to improve the style. With the aim of raising the rotation transmission efficiency of the rotation transmission mechanism in these round dual-bearing reels, the spool axis has been set off upward and rearward in the reel unit in order to enlarge the inter-shaft separation between the main gear and the pinion gear. This disposes the handle axis and the spool axis approximately on a diameter of the round outward form of the reel body. Nevertheless, with conventional compact round dual-bearing reels, such as disclosed for example in Japanese Reg. Utility Model No. 2552677, there is a limit to the expanding the inter-shaft distance.
A through-hole for inserting and removing the spool is provided in the reel body in round dual-bearing reels of this sort. Therefore, setting the spool axis off beyond a certain degree would make the thickness between the portion in which the through-hole is formed and the outer peripheral portion flimsy, diminishing the strength of the reel body against impact from being dropped. Moreover, this would put the outer circumference of the spool too close to the outer peripheral side of the reel body and to the clutch operating device, making it difficult to perform pitching and to operate the clutch.
In order to prevent this, dual-bearing reels are known in which the side-cover on the side where the handle is mounted protrudes axially as well as diametrically outward. Usually the protruding portion, which is roughly rectangular when viewed laterally, is formed stepped off beneath the rest so that it can accommodate the larger-diameter main gear mounted on the handle shaft. Furnishing the protruding portion in this manner keeps the strength from diminishing and keeps the reel from being awkward to operate, and at the same time increases the rotation transmission efficiency.
With conventional dual-bearing reels having the protruding portion, the protrusion sticks out in roughly rectangular form. Therefore, even though the outer circumferential surface of the remaining circular section can be machined by for example a lathe, machining the outer peripheral surface of this protruding portion that is roughly rectangular in prominence is difficult. This means that a machined section and an un-machined section appear on the outer peripheral surface, giving rise to an unnatural disparity from a design standpoint, which degrades the overall style and decorativeness of the reel unit. Moreover, even if the reel body is not machined, the round portion and rectangular portion lend an odd feel to the design, diminishing the style and decorativeness of the reel unit overall.
An object of the present invention to improve style and decorativeness in dual-bearing reel outward appearance among those in which the reel body has a protruding portion.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a dual-bearing reel unit to be mounted on a fishing rod has a handle disposed on one side surface of the dual-bearing reel unit and a spool disposed inside the dual-bearing reel unit, and includes a frame, a pair of side-covers and a fishing rod mounting portion. The frame includes a pair of side-plates between which the spool is disposed and a connection member for connecting the side-plates. The pair of side-covers covers the outer side of the two side-plates, and the handle is mounted on a proximal of the pair of side-covers. The fishing rod mounting portion is mounted on the fishing rod between the pair of side-plates. On the side on which the handle is mounted, the proximal side-cover and the proximal side-plate form a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion. The first cylindrical portion has a cylindrical first space inside, and the second cylindrical portion has a cylindrical second space inside that protrudes outward with respect to the first cylindrical portion in a spool shaft direction and is connected to the cylindrical first space, an outer circumference of the second cylindrical portion being staggered, so that it intersects with an outer circumference of the first cylindrical portion.
In a dual-bearing reel unit thus, a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion are arranged on the side where the handle is mounted, the first cylindrical portion has a first space, and the second cylindrical portion has a cylindrical second space inside that protrudes outward in a spool shaft direction and is connected to the cylindrical first space, an outer circumference of the second cylindrical portion being staggered, so that it intersects with the first cylindrical portion. That is to say, the side-plate and the side-cover form two staggered cylindrical portions with intersecting outer circumferences. Making the protruding portion with the second cylindrical portion, which protrudes to the outside, it becomes easy to form the outer peripheral surface in a cutting process while increasing the rotation efficiency by providing a protruding portion, and the two cylindrical portions do not impart the odd feel to the design arising in reels with the rectangular protrusion. Thus, the appearance and decorativeness of a dual-bearing reel unit having a protruding portion can be improved.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in the first aspect, the outer peripheral surfaces of the two cylindrical portions overlap at least partially in the spool shaft direction. In this case, the outer peripheral surfaces of the two cylindrical portions overlap at least partially, so that the space formed by the first space and the second space in the portion where the two cylindrical portions overlap becomes large with respect to a direction intersecting with the spool shaft, and the main gear and various mechanisms, such as the clutch control mechanism, can be accommodated in a compact fashion without extending the length of the reel in the spool shaft direction. Therefore, the storage space inside the reel unit is increased, and a compact appearance can be achieved.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in the first or second aspect, the two cylindrical portions have substantially the same diameter. In this case, the processing of the outer surfaces of the cylindrical portions is easier, because the two cylindrical portions have the same diameter.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to third aspects, the proximal side-cover is positioned with respect to the proximal side-plate by a plurality of positioning members. In this case, the proximal side-cover can be easily centered spanning both rotation shafts of the handle and the spool, because the side-cover and the side-plate are positioned with positioning members.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to fourth aspects, the outer peripheral surface of the frame and the side-covers is made by a cutting process. In this case, the appearance can be improved, because the outer peripheral surface of the entire reel unit is made by a cutting process.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to fifth aspects, the distal side-cover can be opened and closed with respect to the distal side-plate. In this case, since the distal side-cover can be opened and closed, the spool can be removed from a portion where relatively few mechanisms are located, which makes maintenance of the spool easier.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to sixth aspects, a cut-out portion for mounting a gear member that is mounted to an end of a threaded shaft of a level wind mechanism for uniformly winding fishing line on the spool, so as to rotate the threaded shaft, is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the first cylindrical portion, and the dual-bearing reel unit further includes a cover member for covering the gear member, mounted on the first cylindrical portion at the cut-out portion. In this case, it is easy to cut the outer surface of the first cylindrical portion, even when the gear member is provided with a large diameter, for example, so as to wind the fishing line more densely on the spool or to improve the rotation efficiency.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to seventh aspects, the second space accommodates a main gear for transmitting rotation of the handle to the spool, the main gear being mounted on a rotation shaft of the handle, and a pinion gear meshing with the main gear. In this case, the main gear and the pinion gear are disposed in the second space, which is staggered toward the first space, so that the entire reel unit can be made smaller while both gears can be provided with large diameters to increase the efficiency of the rotation transmission, and there is no necessity to shift the spool too far to the side that is opposite from the side that is mounted to the fishing rod.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to eighth aspects, a rotation shaft of the handle is arranged in a portion where the first outer circumference overlaps the second outer circumference. In this case, the main gear and the pinion gear can be provided with large diameters while mounting them on the rotation shaft, because the handle rotation shaft is arranged in a portion where the two outer circumferences overlap.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to ninth aspects, the second outer circumference is staggered with respect to the first outer circumference toward the rotation shaft of the handle. In this case, the main gear can be provided with a large diameter while mounting the main gear on the rotation shaft, because the second outer circumference is shifted toward the rotation shaft of the handle.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to tenth aspects, the second cylindrical portion is staggered with respect to the first cylindrical portion toward the side where the fishing rod is mounted and toward the side where fishing line is unwound from the spool. In this case, the handle can be operated more efficiently, because the direction in which the second cylindrical portion, to which the handle is mounted, is staggered is downward and toward the front with respect to the first cylindrical portion.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel unit as in any of the first to eleventh aspects, the two cylindrical portions are covered only by the proximal side-cover. In this case, the structure for covering the two cylindrical portions is simple, because there is only a single proximal side-cover.
From the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art.